The Princess, the Dragon, and the Lao Hu Hills
by andalitebandit-6
Summary: A mysterious stranger comes into the Valley of Peace looking for the legendary warrior that can save his village. It's not who you'd expect. Po/Tigress
1. Chapter 1

Po absently chewed his last cold and tasteless bean bun. He was eating more out of habit than anything else. Nothing he ate seemed to have any flavor to it anyway. The winter festival was in full swing, and normally he'd be out there with the rest of the celebrants who were joyfully dancing, singing, and playing games.

But not this year. He sat alone in his room at his father's noodle shop, looking out the window. The delicious smells of baking spring rolls, fried jiaozi, and roasting veggie skewers wafted in with the cool breeze and into his nose. This was also the only time of year when his father made his famous Eight Treasures Rice: a dish containing only the best walnuts, the most perfect raisins, sweet red bean paste, flawless jujube dates, slightly salty almonds, and a veritable rainbow of dried fruits. While these delicacies normally made his mouth water and feet jog, he only continued to lazily watch the children in brightly colored clothes performing the traditional winter ribbon dance in the village square. The girls were wearing beautiful red brocade dresses, decorated with chrysanthemums and cherry blossoms in pinks, greens, and blues. Each girl proudly wore a bright pink cherry blossom upon her head.

Viper led the procession; gracefully twirling, spinning, and pirouetting across the stage. The parents were the most enthusiastic in the audience, clapping and cheering on their little ones. Beyond the dancing was the marketplace lined with booths decorated with bright lights and selling a variety of festival knickknacks, snacks, and other goodies.

Monkey was going around carrying a large brown sack and passing out small red _hong bao _envelopes with majestic-looking gold seals to all the little piglets, lambs, and bunnies. Inside of each envelope was barely enough to buy a cheaply made souvenir, but the children were all ecstatic and rushed to spend their newfound fortunes.

Crane and Mantis were also dancing in the square, underneath the mantle of a Chinese dragon costume, which was a bright yellow with red shiny scales. As always, Crane was the head while Mantis controlled the tail. Po remembered last year when the smaller kung fu master had vigorously protested this arrangement and convinced Crane to reluctantly let them switch places. The resulting chaos, panic, and pandemonium made him grudgingly agree that they would never do that again.

Scattered about were small groups of laughing villagers, drinking hot tea and swapping funny stories of festivals past. Master Shifu was sitting at a row of red tables on the east end of the square, concentrating seriously on his turn during the Mahjong Tournament. He had been really lucky last year, making it all the way to the final four, but only placing forth in the end. He claimed he had not been playing seriously back then and resolved to aim for first place this time. He even neglected the Furious Five's training last week while he practiced non-stop against Mr. Ping and anyone else who could hold a mahjong tile. But what really drew Po's attention was not something bright, or loud, or particularly exciting.

Milling about between the stalls, the dancers, and the story swappers were the couples. Set apart in their own little world, the boys smiled goofy grins, each sporting a beautiful blushing girl on his arm. By the goldfish game, a rabbit couple was laughing because the boy had somehow gotten soaked all the way up to his elbows vainly trying to catch a fish. Near the marketplace, a pair of pigs was admiring a jewelry stall. The boar whispered something into the gilt's ear, and she shyly pointed to a pair of pink pearl-studded earrings nestled in golden lotus leaves. The boar bought them for her and the girl squealed in delight, kissing him on the snout in gratitude. Even the geese sitting under the Baishan fir tree were doing the 'accidental' kiss thing where they unknowingly slurped up opposite ends of the same noodle.

Po felt an emptiness inside of him as he watched them go about their ways, one that couldn't be filled with bean buns. He knew what it was, but also knew it was something he could do nothing about. He fished around in his bowl, forgetting he had already consumed the last of his meal. The panda tossed the vacant dish over his shoulder, where it clattered to the floor behind him. His father would probably tell him to not be such a slob, but he didn't care at that moment.

He once again picked up the letter that had arrived only that morning, addressed to him. It was from Lu-Shi. She was getting married and wanted Po and his father to come to the wedding.

She was Po's ex-fiancée.

Po's thoughts carried him back to the time when he and the doe had first met. He and Monkey had been fighting on stilts in front of Po's house when they had seen Lu-Shi and her father being attacked by bandits. As they rushed to help, Po was momentarily distracted as he noticed how cute the female goat was up close. Lu-Shi helped in the fight, showing off her kung fu skills, even going so far as to use them on Po. Rather than being upset, the panda had marveled at her. He remembered how his palms had become sweaty, his heart was racing, and he'd felt tingly all over. At the time he figured she'd probably just gotten him with the Cloven Hoofed Exploding Head Technique.

Monkey pointed out that his head had to actually explode if that had been the case, and suggested to Po that instead he might actually be in love. Po had laughed it off but then found himself distressed when, after thanking them, Lu-Shi's father explained that she was going to be married soon. The doe admitted that it was an arranged marriage, and though she had never seen her future husband, she was excited to meet him. He was called The Dragon Warrior.

Po felt pretty sure his head had finally exploded upon hearing that.

Mr. Ping later confirmed that he had arranged for his son to be married to the daughter of a dish salesman, since baby Po broke dishes faster than his father could afford to replace them. While mildly offended that his father had traded him for dishware, Po became ecstatic when Lu-Shi presented him with a wedding gift: A rare mono-browed Master Shifu action figure. It seemed like such a fairytale situation: She was pretty, funny, good at kung fu, loved dumplings, and even offered to merge her action figure collection together with Po's... if he agreed to the marriage.

After announcing his engagement to the entire Jade Palace, Master Shifu had taken Po aside to speak with him privately. If he went through with the marriage, Lu-shi would be under constant threat of kidnapping. To keep her safe, Po would have to step down as the Dragon Warrior. After much soul-searching, second thoughts, and unsuccessful attempts to get Master Shifu to tell him what to do so he could just go along with it, Po made his decision. Crane had planned the entire wedding ceremony, they'd made it all the way up to the altar, Lu-Shi had said "I do", and when it was finally Po's turn... he froze.

In the end, he couldn't give up being the Dragon Warrior, even though that meant he might grow up to be old, sad, and... alone. While they had parted amicably, they'd made no promises to each other besides _maybe_ hanging out sometime. Now it was too late. What was the point of having his great life if he had no one to share it with?

Po sighed and crossed his arms atop his windowsill, resting his weary head against the glass.

Tigress growled low in her throat. That man in the dark hooded cape had been staring at her ever since she sat down to eat at Mr. Ping's noodle shop. Every muscle in her body ached to go over to the creep and punch him hard in the gut. But she was a kung fu master and knew better than to act on impulse. She would just pay for her food and leave, channeling her anger onto the Jade Palace's training hall instead.

She wasn't really interested in going outside and getting involved in the jubilant festivities. Not that she had anything against the villagers having fun, but she felt Shifu and the other kung fu masters were neglecting their duty of being vigilant protectors. A surprise attack could come at any moment, and then what would they do? So while the others were busy goofing off, she had decided to take it upon herself to be the responsible one and keep watch for threats.

As she pushed her chair back to stand, she noticed the stranger doing the same. Tigress casually left her coins on the table and walked towards the exit, pretending she hadn't notice she was being followed. If this guy was going to try to rob her or was looking for a fight, it was better if she dealt with him in a less populated place where there would be less property damage and fewer innocent bystanders.

Or at least, she _tried_ to leave. Tigress was just three steps from the exit when a large paw tapped her on the shoulder. She immediately spun and assumed a fighting stance, grinning despite herself. It had been too long since she'd had a chance to stretch her butt-kicking muscles, and she relished the thought of using the man's face to break some tables... She'd apologize to Mr. Ping later.

Her would-be attacker put his hands up in an 'I'm unarmed' position, but Tigress didn't lower her guard. All the noodle shop patrons were watching them to see what happened next. Since she couldn't attack someone that wasn't attacking her first, Tigress reluctantly decided to talk to the creepy hooded figure. "What do you want?"

The stranger's eyes were still shielded by his hood. "Are you..." he seemed to be choosing his next words carefully, "from the Jade Palace?"

The question was not what Tigress had expected. "Yes," she replied evenly. "Who wants to know?"

"Forgive me." The stranger slowly lowered his hands and brought them together, bowing respectfully. "I did not mean to disturb you. My name is Bao-Jia and I am looking for the one called Master Shifu. I heard I could find him there. I wish to speak to him."

"Then you should have gone to the palace directly." Tigress relaxed her stance slightly, still not completely trusting him. "And how did you know I live there, anyway?"

"I heard he trained several kung fu masters, which are famously known as the 'Furious Five'," Bao-Jia explained, still bowed. "You have a distinct air about you, a disciplined posture, and keen senses. I knew you had to be one of them."

Tigress let her arms fall to her sides, then crossed them across her chest. "Show me your face."

The man straightened to his full height. It was only then that she noticed how big he really was, visibly over seven feet tall! About a foot taller than Tigress herself. He slowly brought his hands up to pull back the hood.

She gasped.

Looking back at her was the face of a South China Tiger. His fur was a rich auburn gold with beautiful bold stripes outlining his eyes, cheekbones, and forehead. Tigress felt a strange sensation of déjà vu come over her, as if she had seen those pale yellow eyes, long white whiskers, and jet black nose before.

"...Who are you?" she asked.

"Let us talk somewhere more private," Bao-Jia suggested, walking past her toward the exit.

Tigress once again became aware that everyone in the noodle shop was still staring. She scowled and turned to follow.

(End Chapter 1)

A/N: Thanks to Percabeth17 for making the chapter more readable, to Kitty. for pointing out the character inconsistencies, to meggie6 for the wonderful descriptive detail ideas, Celeste K. Raven for the flashback idea with Lu-Shi and everyone else for their encouragement and support ^_^ I'll be updating about once every 2 weeks, so please be patient with me!

*Jiaozi: a Chinese crescent-shaped dumpling filled with a minced stuffing and steamed, boiled or fried

* Brocade: a class of richly decorative shuttle-woven fabrics, often made in colored silks and with or without gold and silver threads

*Hong Bao envelopes: red packets containing small monetary gifts usually given out during holidays or special occasions to single people and children.

*Gilt: a young female domestic pig. If she's given birth to piglets, she's called a sow

*Lu-Shi: from the "Legends of Awesomeness" episode: Bride of Po

*Baishanzu fir tree: a type of fir tree found China


	2. Chapter 2

Po's lonely thoughts were shoved aside as he noticed Tigress facing off with the mysterious visitor. He was puzzled when nothing happened and they started talking in hushed tones in the corner of the noodle shop. As the stranger revealed himself, Po's eyes narrowed in distrust. He wasn't sure why he didn't like this handsome feline, but he'd figure that out later. Right now, he needed to focus on the quickly retreating forms of the tigers. Who knew what might happen once Tigress was alone with that guy? He let his imagination take over...

_Tigress and the stranger are on a mountain top, standing face-to-face. _

"_I am a traveling warrior looking for strong opponents to fight," the mysterious guy says. "Are you strong?"_

"_Why don't you find out?" Tigress replies, and jumps into the air above him. "HIYAAA!"_

_The two combatants come together in a glorious whirlwind of slashing claws, biting fangs, and furious kicks. The stranger suddenly sinks his razor sharp teeth into Tigress's shoulder, causing her to roar in pain. She slams a powerful punch into the man's gut that breaks them several feet apart. Both are sweating and panting heavily; the man doubled over holding his stomach, while Tigress reaches up to stanch the wound so close to her neck._

"_You fight well," the mystery guy remarks. "But, I still have an ace up my sleeve. Something no warrior can ever hope to defend against."_

"_Oh... yeah?" Tigress gasped in between breaths. "What's that?"_

"_LASER VISION!" he replies, his eyes glowing green and shooting a beam that knocks Tigress to the ground._

"_Kyaaaaa!" she cries out. "I'm blind!"_

"_HAHAHA!" the stranger leaps impossibly high and lands directly on top of her, thrusting his enormous paw around Tigress's throat and pinning her where she lay. "I have defeated you, as I have all the others! Beg for your life while I laugh and gloat some more!"_

"_Oh no!" Tigress laments. "I have been defeated... who can save me now?"_

"I'll _save you!" comes the reply from above._

_Falling from the sky, like a great ball of fire, a new mysterious stranger appears. He wears a stylish bamboo sun hat and dashing red cape that flutters heroically behind him. He lands a spinning back kick into the male tiger's face, effectively knocking him backwards off the mountain. The cat falls so hard he creates a crater where he touches ground, kicking up a mushroom cloud of dust._

"_Gaaah!" the evil-doer yelps as he clutches his face. "My eyes! You have knocked out my laser vision!"_

"_That's right, creep," the new stranger tilts his head back to show his face underneath his hat, revealing that it is actually Po! "Nobody messes with my friends and gets away with it. Prepare to feel the thunder!"_

_Po rockets down the mountain side, his powerful arms outstretched in front of him, "Murderous Grasshopper Fist!" He drives the attack into the cat's solar plexus, the force of it sinking his foe's body deeper into the ground. "Ancient Boar's Elbow of the Book!" The panda elbowed his chin upwards, sending the feline flying into the air. Jumping up to meet him, he growled "Despicable Avalanche of the Ghosts!" then proceeded to assail his torso with a barrage of lightning fast jabs at various pressure points, leaving the poor guy completely paralyzed. Finally, Po wound up his arm to deliver the final blow:_

"_Western Sixteen Brides Smash!"_

_He sent the bone-crushing attack into the center of the tiger's chi, sending his form careening out towards the sun, until he was just a mere pinpoint, and eventually disappears from sight. _

_His good deed done, Po hopped easily over to where his fallen comrade lay, kneeling down beside her. "Are you okay, Tigress?"_

"_Po..." Her eyes searched blindly for him. "Is it really you?"_

"_Yes," Po replied, gently using his right paw to cradle the back of her head and help her up into a sitting position. "I'm here, Tigress. You have nothing to worry about now." Using his left hand, he wiggled his fingers and waved them in a fancy motion across her face, ending with a flash of light and the magic word, "Shakabooie!"_

_Tigress blinked in surprise, looking about at her surroundings. "I can see?"_

"_Thanks to the Wild Zap Sight Restore technique I just invented," Po smiled at her. "Now let's take you home and get those wounds looked after."_

_He picked her up in his strong arms and began leaping effortlessly from hilltop to hilltop, across the mountain range, towards the Jade Palace._

"_Po..." Tigress began, but then trailed off._

"_Yes, Tigress?"_

"_Well, I... it's just that... I... I-"_

"_It's okay, Tigress." Po replied encouragingly. "Don't be shy."_

"_Oh, I guess I'll just come right out and say it! I think you're the most bodaciously awesome warrior in the whole world!" she reached up and touched his cheek with her paw. "Thanks for coming to rescue me, Po... I don't know what I would've done without you."_

"_You're welcome," he responded. "What are friends for?"_

"_So you only see me as just a friend?" she asked despondently, sliding her paw down to caress his broad chest and batting her eyelashes shyly. "Isn't there anything I could do to...change your mind about that?"_

"_Maybe..." Po grinned mischievously. "What did you have in mind?"_

_Tigress closed her eyes and lifted her face up to him, lips trembling in anticipation. Po eagerly lunged downward and roughly caught those lusty lips with his own..._

Po's father came into his room right in the middle of the kissing scene, where his son had his eyes closed and was making out with the air in front of him, even bringing his tongue into the action.

"PO!"

The panda's eyes flashed open and he froze, leaving his tongue still sticking out. They stared silently at each other as an awkward moment passed between father and son.

Mr. Ping shook his head, deciding to save his comments for a later conversation. "I need your help, son." He grabbed Po's paw and led him down the stairs. "Table six needs three bowls of udon!"

The goose grabbed the hot dishes off the counter and shoved them into his son's arms. "Remember to be careful and keep your thumbs on the outside of the bowls this time, okay?"

"Dad, wait!" Po protested, remembering what he had to do, although he reflexively balanced the noodles across his body. "I don't have time! I have to follow Tigress and make sure she doesn't get hurt!"

Mr. Ping ignored his excuses and shoved the panda out towards the waiting patrons. "Then I need to you go to the market and buy some spices. We're out of soy sauce!"

Po lurched forward, slipped on a ginger peel, crashed into table six, and sent the udon bowls flying onto the faces of the customers at tables one, two, and seven.

"Sorry!" he blurted, as he scrambled to get up and chase down the tiger duo.

"PO!" his father called after him. "Where are you going?!"

"Sorry, Dad!"

Po burst out into the crowd, immediately craning his neck to scan for seven-foot-tall orange heads. He saw a pair of pointy ears passing by a band of playing musicians. The panda stealthily jumped in front of the jewelry stall and picked up a necklace, pretending to be admiring it while keeping an eye on those ears.

The vendor noticed Po staring at someone in the crowd and smiled, misunderstanding his determined gaze. "Looking for something nice to impress your girlfriend, eh?"

"Huh?" Po blinked in surprise and turned to look at the rabbit standing behind the earring display. "No! I mean, she's not my girlfriend! I mean, I'm not..." He shook his head and tried to locate those ears by the musicians again, but they had moved on. They were now further away and heading towards the Mahjong Tournament.

"Ah! I'm going to lose her!" Po cried anxiously.

Still misunderstanding, the vendor reached over and sympathetically patted the back of the panda's paw. "There-there, friend, don't give up so easily! Why not try giving her this beautiful (imitation) onyx jade bracelet? Only thirty yuan!"

"Ooo, that _is_ pretty!" Po agreed. "No, wait! I don't have time for this. Something bad might happen if I'm not there to protect her!"

"Well then, you better hurry," the rabbit motioned over Po's left shoulder. "I think I just saw your lady friend go into an alley with a really good-looking guy."

"Oh no!" Po gasped, turning to sprint in that direction. "Thanks, I gotta go!"

"Good luck!" the rabbit waved after him.

Po ran up the edge of the building the rabbit had pointed out and peeked around the bend behind the apple cart duck. Tigress and the stranger were indeed alone in the alley. Po slipped back out of sight and climbed up the other side of the building, sneaking along the roof towards them. Not wanting to get caught, he flattened himself against the concrete as best he could, straining his ears to listen.

"So," Tigress began, an impatient ear twitch the only thing betraying her curiosity. "Why should I take you to Master Shifu?"

"Twenty years ago," he began, "my wife and I were living peacefully in the Lao Hu Hills. It's a secluded place with the Topaz Palace at the top of the hill and the village at its base. One day the queen discovered she was pregnant. The king announced the cub's birthday would be declared a holiday and preparations went underway to host the festival in three months' time.

"A week before the event, the queen decided she wanted to invite the entire village for a rehearsal feast. It was there, during the toast to the queen's health, that there was revolution in the palace. The king and queen were taken prisoner by their own royal guards by order of the Minister of Peace, Tsou Wang. Unbeknownst to the king, Tsou had been building up his own army, bribing the existing guards to swear allegiance only to him, and secretly executing those who refused."

As Po continued listening in, he paused for a moment, realizing that he had heard about something similar. "Tsou Wang..." he furrowed his brow as he tried to place the name. "Where have I heard it before?"

Tigress shook her head. "But why? If he was the Minister of Peace, what was Tsou Wang's purpose in causing upheaval?"

"He believed that peace was contrary to what he considered to be the inherently ferocious nature of all tigerkind," Bao-Jia replied. "Because our home is so well hidden, we are seldom under attack or involved in wars. Many of the soldiers had become restless, and that made it easy for Tsou to win them over to his side. They were eager to put their training into practice and lift their blades in real combat."

He knit his fingers together and flexed them a bit. "The take-over was accomplished in a matter of minutes. Tsou then announced that every able-bodied male over the age of sixteen was to join his army. All who resisted would be shown no mercy. The king and queen were to be executed in the morning as an example of what happens to the weak. He wanted to expand our territory and the nearest precinct was the Hamlet of Riquan. There was no one who could stop him."

Po's eyes widened in realization. "That's it! The Hamlet of Riquan! That time Master Shifu had us escort those food carts to Riquan against bandits, I heard the drivers mention it." He pressed a paw to his forehead as he tried to recall the relevant pieces of their conversation. "Something about... them not needing to be escorted... if Tsou Wang were still in charge? This must be what they meant!"

"That night," Bao-Jia continued, "as luck would have it, the queen went into labor. The king begged the guards to bring her a midwife, but they were under strict instruction not to speak with the prisoners, and his pleas were ignored. After several grueling hours, the queen gave birth to a healthy baby girl. However, it was not a happy occasion. It was a cruel irony that the cub had been born only to die with the rising of the sun.

"An hour before the dawn, a guard came to bring them their last meal. The queen recognized him instantly. His name was Joo Jin. He had been the palace jokester, always trying to make everyone laugh, and she had favored him. She reached out to him now, begging not for her own life, but for the life of her newborn daughter. Joo shook her off and avoided eye-contact, rushing to leave after setting down the plate of food. He returned a few minutes later with a pair of shackles in his hands.

"The execution is taking place early," he told the other guards. "Minister Wang's orders."

"Joo led the prisoners out behind the courtyard, around the east side of the hill, facing out towards the horizon where the sun would rise. There, on the pass along the hillside, was an empty rickshaw. Joo undid their chains and told them to run. Just as they finished boarding the queen and her cub into the cart, a ruckus in the palace alerted them that Joo Jin's ruse had been found out. The queen invited him to come with them, but he smiled at her and shook his head. It was his job to protect the royal family, he said. He would stay behind to buy them some time. As they rode away, they heard Joo's voice carried along by the wind:

"Long live the king! Long live the queen! Long live the princess!"

"After that day, rumors began to spread. The king and queen had escaped to the lowlands and had started a new life as fishermen. A strange man had arrived half dead at the fisherman's village, apparently having traveled for days without rest. The skin and stomach muscles of the woman in his cart were still stretched out, making the fact of her labor apparent. But she was alone. The child had not survived the trip.

"It wasn't until years later, when rumors of the king and queen's whereabouts were long out of public interest, that a new rumor was born: The queen's cub was alive. She was alive, and had become a great warrior, and would soon return to restore the peace and former glory of her parent's kingdom. The rumors called her: the Lao Hu Warrior Princess."

"Ooo, I've heard those rumors!" Po exclaimed in hushed tones. "The princess is supposed to be as beautiful as a tiger lily, fierce as a fireball, and a legendary kung fu master!" He accentuated that last comment by punching his fist into the palm of his hand. "Man, it'd sure be awesome to meet her! But wait... does this mean she's real?"

"Wait," Tigress said, cupping her chin pensively with her right paw. "If the guard who set them free was killed and the king and queen were never heard from again... how do you know all this?"

"The king's name," the male feline explained, "...was Bao-Jia."

A/N: Okay, so I said 2 weeks but I'm relatively happy with what I have now, and decided to post it early xD Srsly though, in the future, expect new chapters to take about 2 weeks to put up. I'm starting school again and will probably super busy. Thanks to Megan Shehan for the idea with Po's daydream, to Sailorstar165 and the other betas that caught some grammatical mistakes, to the reviewers, and to RizReviewer for her help keeping Tigress in character, fixing the choppy beginning, and the idea for defining words at the end of the chapter.

*Udon: a type of thick wheat flour noodle of Japanese cuisine  
*1 Chinese yuan = 0.16 U.S. dollars, so 30 yuan is about $5


	3. Chapter 3

I WENT BACK AND MADE CHANGES TO PO'S POV IN CHAPTER ONE.  
IT'S JUST THE LAST PART TALKING ABOUT LU-SHI, BUT THIS CHAPTER WILL MAKE MORE SENSE IF YOU READI IT :3

"No way!" Po exclaimed, before quickly covering his mouth with his paws.

Luckily for him, Tigress was too shocked to notice. "But then... does that mean that you're...?"

"The former king of the Topaz Palace and Lao Hu Hills," he nodded. "At your service."

"Nwwwah!" Po repeated muffledly. He removed his paws and continued to whisper excitedly to himself. "A king is visiting the Jade Palace! Well, former king, but still cool! Should I run ahead and tell everyone? Should I wear something fancy? Ooo, maybe I could re-use that wedding robe from when Lu-Shi and I were going to..."

Lu-Shi again. When was her memory going to stop haunting him? He had no right to feel sorry for himself. After all, _Po_ had been the one to dump _her_, not the other way around.

"As Dragon Warrior, you sacrifice so much to protect the Valley of Peace, Po," her voice echoed in his mind, "but to run from true love would be like running from a great battle. You'd always wonder, 'what if?'"

"I see." Tigress's cold voice brought Po out of his somber musings. "And what proof do you have that any of this is true? How do I know you're not making it all up? I've never heard of Lao Hu Hills or rumors about any warrior princesses around here."

"Proof, I have none," Bao-Jia admitted. "My wife and I discarded all vestiges of our royal lineage to avoid Tsou Wang sending a search party out to hunt us down." He smiled sadly. "If you can believe that."

"Then I don't know what you expect Master Shifu to be able to do for you." Tigress crossed her arms. "Reinstating random strangers claiming to be fallen kings of unheard of villages is not exactly his forte."

Bao-Jia laughed suddenly, startling both kung fu masters. "No, I wouldn't expect that he could. That's not why I'm here."

The male tiger reached into his robe and pulled out a small brown draw-string pouch. He opened it and turned it upside-down on his free paw, giving it a quick shake. Out fell a small pair of rose-colored booties, perfect for adorning a newborn cub's feet. Po squinted, trying to get a better look at them. He could make out something shiny yellow glittering faintly on each.

"My wife had these made as soon as she knew she was expecting," Bao-Jia explained. "They're the only thing from our past life that we couldn't bear to part with. They served as a reminder that one day, when Tsou Wang was no longer a threat to our family, we would get our little girl back."

Tigress was strangely fascinated by the tiny footwear. Without being conscious of it, her hand had started reaching out for them. Bao-Jia noticed but didn't stop her. She gently plucked them out of his massive paw and brought them up to her face.

The booties were made of soft pink silk. They were laced together up the middle with long yellow ribbons that tied in a neat bow at the top. Gold trim bordered around the upper edges of the shoes and gold thread outlined the trail of cherry blossoms spreading outwards on its sides. The petals were embellished with bright red embroidery, and a cluster of tiny ivory beads were hand-sewn into the center of each blossom. The booties were old and faded, but it was obvious from the craftsmanship that they had once been very fine.

Tigress caught herself wondering what it would be like to wear something so soft and elegant on her rough bare feet. It was completely impractical for kung fu, of course. Most _girly_ things were. But still, she wondered...

Po wondered too. The image of Tigress wearing pink made him giggle. Pink shoes, pink shirt... what if she wore pink lipstick? And a pink flower in her hair? Pink eye shadow?

Po almost burst out laughing and had to muffle himself again.

"So." Tigress snapped out of it and refocused her attention. "You want Shifu's help finding your missing daughter? That will be difficult..."

_Not too difficult for the Dragon Warrior!_ thought Po. _With supersonic hearing and x-ray vision, he could hear a little girl's cry from a hundred miles away and peer into the very heart of a kidnapper's hideout. He would use his bodaciously awesome kung fu skills to punch through the thickest walls, dive the deepest oceans, and fight through countless bandit hoards._

_In a village of weeping mothers, one of the husbands looked towards the east, where a sandstorm had suddenly appeared. He pointed at the shimmering silhouette of an approaching panda wearing a bamboo hat and cloaked in a fluttering cape. "Look everyone! The Dragon Warrior has returned!"_

_Po stepped out of the storm, his cape wrapped protectively around him, and was immediately surrounded by the villagers. They were happy that he had returned, but confused as to why he had returned alone. "We are happy that you have returned, Dragon Warrior," the mayor of the town said. "But we are confused as to why you have returned alone..."_

"_I have found twelve missing daughters," the panda announced to the anxious crowd. He threw back his cape, revealing a dozen little ducklings, bunnies, and piglets in frilly dresses clinging to his furry body like baby monkeys. "It took me ten minutes. I apologize for being so slow."_

_He leaped in an arc over the spectators, chucking the children like ninja stars into the arms of their overjoyed parents. All except for one._

_Po landed with a thunderous BOOM before King Bao-Jia and knelt in reverence to his kingliness._

"_Your highness," Po lifted up a bouncing baby girl cub towards him. "I believe this is yours."_

"_Amazing!" the king gasped in awe, gingerly taking the tiger cub into his arms. "You are truly amazing, Dragon Warrior! How could I ever thank you? Riches? Your own palace? A lifetime supply of dumplings?"_

"_A good deed is its own reward," Po humbly replied. "But I wouldn't want to offend a king by refusing his offer. I'll accept the dumplings."_

"_PO!"_

_The panda turned to see the crowd part like a living sea to allow for Tigress to emerge, walking straight towards him. "Good work, Po. I should've known nothing is too difficult for our great and mighty Dragon Warrior."_

"_It was nothing," Po said around a mouthful of dumplings from a bowl that had somehow appeared in his hands. A small mountain of them was also stacked around him. "I'm just good with kids, that's all."_

"_Then perhaps you wouldn't mind," Tigress sidled up to him with a coy smile, "...being the father of _my_ children?"_

_Po swallowed, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and smiled back. "That _totally_ can be arranged."_

_He threw the empty bowl over his shoulder, sliding his arms around Tigress's waist, and moving in for a dramatic slow-motion kiss, their faces gravitating closer and closer until they were only one inch apart..._

"It will be difficult," the real Tigress's voice snapped Po out of his daydream, "because after twenty years there isn't enough scent left on those shoes to go by. I hope you don't have your hopes set too high."

Po's mind replayed the dream sequence, adding twenty years to the baby girls clinging to him. The sudden growth spurt stretched their little dresses and panties tight against their shapely feminine bodies. The dream ended suddenly with an angry Tigress throwing a rising uppercut into his face, sending him flying backwards across the valley.

"That's not it either," Bao-Jia carefully took the booties back and replaced them in his pouch. "I already know where she is."

"Then what do you want?!" Tigress demanded, getting frustrated with this man. "If you already know where your daughter is and you don't need our help, then what do you want from us?"

"Twenty years ago," he replied. "My wife and I passed through the Valley of Peace on our way to the lowlands. We didn't know if we would make it. A dozen things could go wrong. We might be recognized and captured along the way, attacked by bandits, or worse. We spotted an orphanage and decided the best thing we could do for our daughter was to drop her off there, and entrust that she would be cared for in a safe place without the fear of being kidnapped or the stigma of her parents."

Tigress felt a chill travel down her back and was seized by a sudden urge to run. She knew where this story was going and didn't want to hear it. But her feet remained rooted to the spot and her arms dangled uselessly at her sides.

Po's jaw dropped. He suspected where it was going to go next, and waited for Bao-Jia to confirm his suspicions with bated breath.

"The name of that orphanage was the Bao Gu Orphanage," he continued. "I went there the night before, when I first returned to this village after all these years. I talked to the nanny who told me that they'd only ever had one tiger cub living there, and she had been adopted by a kung fu master named 'Shifu'. She lives with him in the Jade Palace, a kung fu master in her own right, and goes by the name..."

"Master Tigress," both Po and Bao-Jia said simultaneously

Bao-Jia knelt before Tigress so they were at eye-level. He reached out and took one of her limp paws in between his huge ones. "I came here with the hope of asking him if I could have a word with her, and that she would deign to speak to the man who had, for all intents and purposes... _abandoned_ her." His voice cracked a bit. "Could you ever forgive me... my child?"

(End chapter 3)

A/N: Thanks to Percabeth17, Celeste K. Raven, Faithgirl, YouAreBeforeEverything, RizReviewer, Kira Vulpes, Pale18, The Red Dove, Dragoness of the Stars, tlc234stars, Goddess of Imaginary, Jedi Kay-Kenobi, Cookie M 2012, and Puckabrinaluver for their reviews/feedback/support!

The chapter 4 will be posted September 9th


	4. Chapter 4

Po was intensely curious as to what Tigress's answer would be. He leaned over the side of the roof, straining his ears to pick up her response.

"Hey, Po!"

Po gasped and nearly fell, catching himself just in time. He spun around, coming face-to-face with Monkey.

"I finished passing out the _hong bao_ envelopes and saw you playing around up here," the primate explained. "What are you doing?"

"Monkey, shhh!" Po whispered desperately. "I'm not playing around! I'm-"

"Spying on Tigress again?" the golden langur smiled knowingly. "I thought you learned your lesson the last three times she caught you and paralyzed different parts of your face." He chuckled, recalling the memories. "The time she gave you a lazy eye was the funniest."

"Yeah, okay, hilarious," Po rolled his eyes. "Can we please talk about this later? It's just getting to the good part!"

"Good part?" Monkey knuckle-walked closer to the edge. "What's going on? Who's that guy with Tigress? And why is he holding her hand and down on one knee like's about to ask her to..." Monkey's eyes gleamed and a mischievous smile tugged at the corners of his lips. He turned to the panda, eyes wide and mouth gasping in horror, "PO! He's going to propose to Tigress! You have to stop him!"

"Stop him?" the panda cocked an eyebrow. "But he's not-"

"Listen, Po." Monkey folded his arms to convey the seriousness of the situation. "I'm your best friend and I know you better than anyone. Whether you realize it or not... you're secretly in love with Tigress."

"... Huh?" Po blinked in bewilderment. "Monkey, you've got it all wrong! I'm not-" He stopped himself and thought back to his earlier daydreams: the flirting, the kissing, holding Tigress in his arms, planning on having kids together... maybe Monkey was on to something? "I'm not... am I?"

Monkey nodded, "Would I lie to you?"

"HA!" Po incredulously rolled his eyes, "What about that time you told me I was secretly a goat in a panda's body and watched me eat half a field of grass?"

"It's not my fault you're bad at it," Monkey replied indignantly. "Any decent goat half your size would've eaten the _entire_ field. And what kind of goat says '_moooo' _anyway?"

"Or the time you said I was secretly being stalked by Ms. Ewe and told me to confront her?"

"How was I supposed to know she carried a mace in her purse?"

"Then there's the time you-"

"_Okay!_" Monkey threw his hands up in surrender. "So sometimes I fib. But trust me, _this_ time I'm completely serious. And if you don't go down there and stop her right now, you'll regret it for the rest of your life." He grinned mischievously. "But don't worry, buddy."

He spun Po around until he was facing the edge. "I've got your back."

With that, he gave Po's back a big shove and knocked the panda flailing off the roof.

"Waaaa-OOF!"

The Dragon Warrior landed unceremoniously on his face. "Owwie..."

"Po!" Tigress snapped out of her frozen state. "What are you doing here?"

Po pushed himself up to a seated position and looked back up at the roof where Monkey smiled down and gave him a thumbs-up.

Bao-Jia released Tigress's hand and stood, looking askance at the new arrival. "You know this... person?"

"Uh... hey, Tigress!" said Po, blushing through his fur as he wiped the dirt off his face. "Nothing much, I just... thought I'd... drop by... see how you were doing."

"Were you _spying_ on me again?!" The panda's persistent violation of her privacy finally caused her to snap. "Didn't you learn your lesson the last three times?"

"That's what I said!" came a voice from above.

Tigress's eyes widened as she looked up. "Monkey's here too?"

Po could _feel_ the heat long before he _saw_ the fire in her eyes. Tigress slowly lowered her face until her gaze locked with his. That gaze pinned him to the spot, and his brow began to bead with sweat as she wordlessly approached him, then knelt to his eye level. When she spoke, her voice was low and calm, but her entire aura radiated murderous intent. "Who else did you bring with you?"

"Uh... haha... technically, I didn't bring him," Po laughed nervously. "Monkey brought himself. I was only going to-"

"_I_ was only going to leave you cross-eyed for a week." Tigress cracked her knuckles. "But now I think I'll make it _two_."

"Ah, wait!" Po shielded his face with his arms. "Before you paralyze me, I wanna ask you an important question!"

Tigress's tail twitched impatiently, but she didn't spring her claws just yet. "What?"

He lowered his arm and smiled widely, literally bouncing in place with excitement. "Are you really the Legendary Lao Hu Warrior Princess?!"

"...What?" Tigress blinked in confusion, her anger temporarily side-tracked as she tried to make sense of Po's question. She suddenly remembered the man who called himself a king standing a few feet behind her, recalled his incredible story, and the rumors surrounding his missing daughter... which he claimed she was. "Don't be ridiculous. Of course I'm not. I-"

She paused a moment, thinking.

"I'm... myself."

That answer sounded weak, even to her. Before she met Bao-Jia, Tigress had no origins, no ancestry, and no family history. She'd never cared about it before. Why did it suddenly seem important now?

"I'm..."

"Tigress," Bao-Jia answered for her.

She turned at the mention of her name.

"Tigress..." he repeated, a little sadly. "That _is_ what your friends called you, is it not? It is the name given to you by the people of this valley, perpetuated by your master, and consecrated by your surrogate family. It is not the name you were born with..." The male tiger clutched the pouch with the booties a little tighter. "But it is who you are now."

Tigress began to stand, her brow furrowing. "Bao-Jia..."

"It was never your mother nor my intention to abandon you," he continued. "It was only supposed to be for a few months, until after the revolution was over. We have always prayed for your safety and happiness. We knew that one day we would come back for you... we just didn't know it would take this long. The treachery and corruption in our former kingdom ran much deeper than either of us could have possibly imagined."

Tigress's face remained stoic, but Po could see the jumble of emotions flickering in her eyes, each one vying for a dominant position. Her heavy lids drooped, taking the battle out of sight.

"So... now what?" Tigress tightened her fists and leveled her hooded stare at her birth parent. "What do you want from me? Do you want a _thank you_? Do you want me to call you _father_?" She spat the word out hatefully. The familiar anger that was a constant in her life had won. This time it was anger at being left with people who called her a monster, anger at making her feel alone and unwanted, anger that even her foster father never treated her like a daughter. Not after his favorite student went renegade...

Bao-Jia's very presence was causing the collective force of twenty years worth of repressed feelings and memories to surge up and crash likes waves against the walls she'd built up surrounding the vulnerable little girl she'd locked away inside. Anger was the sentry that protected those walls, and so it was that she let it rise up now and sent it out to deal with the current situation.

"Tigress?" Po asked with concern. It occurred to him that she was being uncharacteristically harsh. He could tell something else was bothering her. He'd seen small tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

"You don't belong here." She pointed a claw at Bao-Jia, ignoring the panda and holding back angry tears. "Whether you're a liar, a lunatic, or really a king doesn't matter to me. You didn't raise me, so you're no father of mine. You should go home and forget our _little discussion_ today."

Bao-Jia's face contorted in pain as the insults found their mark. But though it hurt, he could tell they came from a place of even deeper hurt. He was wise enough to see past the sentry's volley to the anguished little girl hiding behind it.

"I am so sorry," he murmured as he reached out a comforting paw to her, "that you had to suffer so much in my absence..."

Before he touched her, Tigress flinched and stepped away, leaving her father's paw hanging. He let his arm fall. "But how could I ever forget about you-" he reached down the front of his robe and brought out a silver locket, "-when I see your face every single day?"

Though he'd done his best to remain respectfully silent throughout their exchange, Po couldn't let this stalker-ish comment go by unchallenged. "Woah, buddy!" He threw his hands and body backwards and used the coiled energy to spring into a fighting crane stance beside Tigress, arms extended at his sides and one leg poised to kick. "What's _that_ supposed to mean, huh?"

Bao-Jia had almost forgotten about him and was taken aback by Po's sudden show of protectiveness. Tigress spared him an annoyed glance, but didn't correct or chastise her friend. Standing there, posing a united angry front, it occurred to the king that they made a formidable pair. It almost made him smile. Instead, he handed the locket to Tigress to open. It was oval shaped, smooth, and unadorned. Po engaged in a complicated balancing act where he tried to maintain his stance while craning his neck to look over her shoulder at the locket at the same time. Curious himself, and figuring it was safe, Monkey jumped down to join them. Tigress tested its weight in her hand. It was heavier than she expected. With a wary glance at Bao-Jia, she used her index claw to undo the latch.

Inside the locket was the sketch of a woman; a woman who was the spitting image of Tigress, though a little older, and with laugh lines around the eyes.

And she was smiling.

"Cool!" Po abandoned his stance and openly gawked at the woman. "So tigers _can_ smile!"

"Creepy," countered Monkey. "It's like finding out you have an evil twin. Except in Tigress's case, _she's_ the-"

"Who is this?" Tigress demanded.

"My wife," replied Bao-Jia. "And your mother."

Tigress stared wordlessly at the woman in the picture. She had a lot more questions: What was her name? What was she like? Why was she smiling? But she couldn't show interest without jeopardizing her righteously indignant high ground, so she didn't ask any of them. Instead, she slowly closed her fist over the locket until it clicked shut.

"I know it's a lot to ask of you," Bao-Jia admitted. "And you have every right to refuse me. The decision is ultimately yours to make. But, I want to make one thing clear." He reached out again and lifted her chin to make sure she looked him directly in the eyes. "Regardless of what you decide, I want you to know that I'm _very_ proud of you, Tigress. And I'm very happy I finally got to see you again, after all these years." He smiled warmly and pulled his hand back. "My strong, beautiful, and precious daughter."

Tigress stiffened at his praise, a part of her still urging her to deny her heritage. But another part of her wanted to listen objectively to Bao-Jia's words - _needed _to hear them- was _starved_ for them. This man who called himself her father... was so gentle. The way he treated her, not with fear like the orphanage, nor stern words like her master, but with kindness and affection. Was this what having a real father was like? Tigress felt something squeezing her heart. In all her life, nobody had ever said such nice things about her. Yet here was this stranger, whom she'd only met hours before, and he said them so easily and sincerely.

"I'll be in town for three more days," said Bao-Jia, as he replaced his hood. "I cannot afford to linger here longer than that. You can come find me at the inn if you change your mind."

As the three friends watched his retreating back, Monkey grinned smugly. "Looks like we got here just in time, eh, Po?" He punched the panda playfully in the arm. "If we'd been any later, Tigress would've accidentally married her own father!"

(End Chapter 4)

*Gee's golden langur: the official name of Monkey's species, which is found in a small region of western Assam, India and in the neighboring foothills of the Black Mountains of Bhutan.

A/N: Thanks to Percabeth17,Jedi Kay-Kenobi, Faithgurl, Kitty. M. Smith, YouAreBeforeEverything, for their help betaing the chapter 8D

Sorry to Dragoness of the Stars! I couldn't figure out a way to plausibly incorporate Shifu into the chapter Dx Hope you still enjoyed it, though!


	5. Chapter 5

Tigress lay on her cot in her room, staring vacantly at the ceiling. She held her father's locket in her hand, refusing to look inside it again, but not wanting to let go of it either.

There came a knock on her door. "Hey, Tigress? Can I come in?"

"No," she replied automatically.

Po slowly slid open the door and peeked in anyway. "You feeling okay?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Tigress told the ceiling.

"I hear you." Po discreetly let himself in and closed the door behind him. "It's all pretty crazy, isn't it? Just finding out one day that you're supposed to be this legendary hero, the person that took care of you your whole life isn't your real father, there's no secret ingredient in your dad's Secret Ingredient Soup..."

Tigress sighed in annoyance. "I don't think so, Po."

"Oh, hehe, right!" The panda rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Guess that last one only applies to me. Well, what I'm saying is, I think I know how you feel. So, if you wanna talk about it, I'm here for you!"

"I _don't_ want to talk about it," she repeated, turning onto her side away from him. "I just want to be alone right now."

"Right!" Po took a step backwards. "You probably want some quiet time to think things over. Get some of that _inner peace_ mojo working, am I right? I totally get it. You don't have to tell me twice."

He slid the door open behind him. "So yeah, I'll be going now... but if you change your mind, I'll be back in a flash!"

Po closed the door while remaining inside Tigress's room. "So yeah, this is me, leaving!" he lowered the pitch of his voice and walked in place, making his footsteps progressively softer. "I'll be right here if you need me!"

He sat down and did his best to remain motionless. "Right here," he whispered determinedly.

Tigress breathed evenly for a while, making Po think she'd fallen asleep. He smiled as he fancied himself her personal guardian, daring anyone to just _try_ and disturb her peaceful slumber. He'd use _stealth_ kung fu to take care of them, just like that time the crocs tried to abduct Zan the baby gosling while he was napping in her room. He and Tigress had silently fought them off so as not to wake him; just like _ninjas_, like _ghosts_, like _ninja ghosts _and they_-_

"I can hear you thinking, panda," Tigress said. Po blinked and was surprised to find she was looking directly at him. When did that happen? "Geez, even your thoughts are loud and annoying. I told you to leave me alone!"

_You sure_? Po squinted his eyes as he thought at her, testing her professed think-hearing abilities. _Because I don't mind keeping you company._

Tigress's felt a vein in her forehead begin to throb. "You know I can't _literally_ read your mind, right? What I meant was..." She shook her head. "Why am I explaining this to you? I told you to _GET OUT!_"

Tigress pushed herself up to a seated position on her cot, her eyes hooded with weariness, but still sharp and alert. "You can either leave my room the easy way, or..." she cracked her knuckles, "You can leave the _fun_ way. Which will it be?"

"Uh..." Po began standing up slowly, "Is it fun for me or fun for you?"

"Stick around-" Tigress flashed all her claws at once "-and find out."

She curled a sharpened finger towards Po in a 'come hither' motion.

The panda was surprised to find a part of him actually wanting to obey... luckily, his survival instincts kicked in and stopped him just as he was about to take a fatal step forward into the death trap. "I'd really love to, but-um-ah, I just remembered something I have to do!" He slid the door open and stepped out for real this time. "In _my_ room. Outside. Yeah... so, sorry, bye!"

After Po had left, Tigress sighed and sheathed her weapons. She hadn't really been up for giving the panda a beat-down anyway. Why must he be so persistent? She was about to try lying down again when her door opened and Po peeked back inside.

"One last thing before I go," he said. "I really think you should go talk to your father again before he leaves. He came all this way for you, you know? You should at least hear him out."

Before she could finish analyzing all of Po's most painful pressure points and execute the Fifty Stars of Agony Technique, the panda was gone. She waited a little while in case he came back again.

He didn't.

Finally alone, Tigress took out the locket to consider it again. What would life have been like growing up with a mother? Would she still have turned out the way she did? Would her mother have coddled her, dressed her up, and played with her, like the other village mothers? Would she also smile and say how proud she was of her, like Bao-Jia did?

It also occurred to Tigress to wonder why had Bao-Jia let her keep it. It couldn't be that he'd simply forgotten to ask for it back... maybe he had done it on purpose. On purpose, so that even if her pride didn't let her admit she was curious, returning the locket gave Tigress a face-saving excuse to see him again.

She had to admit that was clever. Her respect for her father grew, just a little.

Tigress grinned and lay down to sleep.

* * *

Bao-Jia was sipping tea in his room that morning when Tigress found him. He set down his cup on the coffee table in front of him and smiled as she entered.

"Thank you for coming." He gestured at an empty chair across from him. "Please, sit. Let's talk."

Tigress remained standing and dangled the locket from her right paw. "I came to return this."

Her father nodded. "Of course. Thank you."

Tigress made no actual move to give it back. Before the silence became uncomfortable, Bao-Jia asked, "Was there something else?"

She lowered the locket into her other hand, running her fingers over its smooth surface. "What can you tell me about her?" she asked. "About... my mother?"

"She's alive." Bao-Jia leaned back into his chair. "Her name is Lijuan."

Tigress nodded then walked over to sit in the chair that had been offered to her earlier. She was ready to listen.

"Ours was an arranged marriage, established by my father when I was too young to remember." The tiger got a far-off look, as if he were gazing into the past. "She was a farm girl, but I had always been a monarch. She was uneducated, had simple pleasures, and had never been in a place as luxurious as a palace before. She marveled at everything, smiled at everyone... and seemed intent on breaking every royal tradition we had. She insisted on wearing her 'comfortable' farm clothes in the palace (thankfully when there were no official visitors), scratched in public, cooked her own meals, and ate together with the servant's at their table. I thought her to be the silliest girl I'd ever met. But I had no choice except to trust my father must have had a reason for choosing her out of the myriad of infinitely better qualified candidates, and so I tolerated her eccentricities."

The image of Po appeared in Tigress's mind at her father's description of her mother. She winced in sympathy for him.

"One of the first people she befriended, as you might expect, was our resident jokester, Joo Jin." Bao-Jia offered Tigress some tea, but she politely refused. "He taught her crude jokes, how to juggle, and sleight of hand tricks with handkerchiefs. Lijuan in turn taught him perverse versions of local nursery rhymes and how to decorate rice balls to look like various animal faces." His expression scrunched into one of perturbed amusement. "I was a little worried... but still pleased. I figured they would keep each other entertained and out of my fur while I focused on the serious issues involved with ruling a kingdom. But that was not the case.

"Officially, a queen of the Topaz Palace's place is in the sewing room with the other palace women: weaving, spinning, and mending my clothes. Lijuan complained that the task bored her to tears, and so whenever Joo Jin was busy, she would shadow me throughout the palace. Although she could not participate, I allowed her to be present during court hearings, with Tsou Wang as the presiding judge. While the defendant would murmur to the judge his version of whatever the argument was, I'd explain to her about the laws and procedures of our kingdom, hoping that once she saw how boring and complicated it was, she would give up and find other entertainment. Instead, I was both awed and annoyed at what a brilliant mind she had, how fast she comprehended everything, and at several of her astute suggestions. It seemed unfair that a simple farm girl should be so talented."

Again, Po's annoyingly smiling face appeared unbidden in Tigress's mind. She recalled the excitement she felt on the day Master Oogway was about to select the next Dragon Warrior. She knew with certainty that she would be the one he picked. They all knew. Oogway had been about to point at her when out of the sky came crashing down the big, fat, son of a noodle vendor and stole the title from her. It was beyond unfair. It was downright immoral.

"Lijuan inserted herself into court life as often as she could," Bao-Jia continued. "She changed the entire atmosphere. She filled the quiet mornings with off-key folk songs. At court, people would argue with the judge's sentences simply for the novelty of her attention. One day, she and Joo Jin even conspired together to serve buttock-shaped loaves of bread at dinner. It was maddening. I recall staring at the heavens thinking, quite possibly out loud, "Why in the world am I doing this?"

"It wasn't until Lijuan's first winter as the Lao Hu queen that I finally had a respite from her antics. Every year the royal family would make rounds of our subjects to make sure their homes were properly stocked during the winter food shortages and their homes insulated against the cold. We remind the people every fall to make preparations, but not everyone has the time or resources. It is a tedious and time-consuming chore whereby every inadequate household must be reevaluated to rule out fraud by those simply too lazy to have bothered. Those we would still help, but they would be fined. The entire castle knew I hated being out in the cold for so long and dealing with such duplicitous people, and knew to stay out of my way during my foul mood.

"As I was about to exit the castle to begin the first rounds, Lijuan suddenly appeared in front of me. She smiled and said she'd been feeling cooped up in the palace and wanted to stretch her legs and visit her people. She snatched the list of names from my hands and called my inspectors to follow her before I could register what had happened. I figured she was acting on one of her whims, though secretly I was glad she was going in my stead. And when she returned sniffling, sneezing, and forced to take bed rest, I was near giddy.

"As the days passed but she didn't get better, I slowly became aware of how... _empty_ the palace seemed. My bed, which had been the perfect size before, was suddenly much too large. Dinner was not as filling without the meats cut up into quaint animal shapes. Without the sound of her laughter echoing through the halls, the quiet that I had always found peaceful before was now painfully loud.

"I did not want to admit the cause of my melancholy state. I tried distracting myself with work. The Minister of Peace usually handled the minor local's squabbles for me, but now I insisted on sitting in for all of them. My presence, however, only made matters worse. The defendants could tell I wasn't really paying attention to them. Tsou Wang often had to call my name several times to bring my head back into the courtroom. It was during a squabble over ownership of an apple that had fallen across property lines that I was overcome with a desperate need to see her and did something I had never done before. I rose from my throne in the middle of Tsou's report and ran out past both him and my guards into the courtyard, my feet instinctively taking me to the palace's sick room.

"Joo Jin was there with her, telling one of his tall tales and laughing together. When they saw me burst in, out of breath and my royal robe askew, they stopped talking. I realized then that I had rushed over without preparing what I wanted to say. Joo patted Lijuan's hand and whispered something I couldn't hear, then stood to leave. As he passed me, he put his hand on my shoulder and whispered in my ear as well, "She cares so much about you that she took that assignment so you wouldn't have to. Be a better friend to your wife."

"I was stunned. It had never occurred to me that someone I was forced to tolerate could someday become so important to me. That a wife could also be a friend. Sometimes in life, you meet people that smile brilliantly. But then you find out they have a dark side and ulterior motives. It makes you distrust people. It often made my job hard to deal with. But that was never the case with Lijuan. Her feelings were always genuine."

The words struck a chord in Tigress's heart. "Someone I'm forced to tolerate... important to me?"

"I sense in you, Tigress, much of myself at your age." Bao-Jia smiled sadly. "You are strong and disciplined, but brimming with internal conflict. If you ever find someone in your life that truly treasures you, don't push him away. You'll need him."

She remembered the time Master Mugan, the kung fu master goldfish, had visited the Valley of Peace. She had invited the Furious Five to replace one of the students she had lost at her Garnet Palace, promising them a martial arts haven. Tigress had been the only one to take up her offer, welcoming a return to the life she knew before Po came and the discipline and commitment towards kung fu training at the Jade Palace had gone downhill. But it was not the life she had envisioned. Master Mugan was a slave driver and was never satisfied, no matter how hard Tigress trained. She'd also begun to grow listless and lonely, as none of the staff would talk to her. Her only respite had been the Po action figure the panda had secretly packed into her bag on the day she left... and it was Po himself who came to beg her to return and then rescued her after it had become too late to leave of her own free will.

Tigress considered that while Po would take her abuse, and even fight back... sometimes he really looked sad. All signs pointed to an unpleasant truth she didn't want to deal with just now. She desperately changed the subject. "I want to see her," she blurted a bit too eagerly. "I want to visit my mother. I want to come with you when you return to your village."

Bao-Jia shook his head. "I'm sorry, Tigress... I'm afraid your mother is no longer with us."

She gaped. "Wha... what do you mean? You just said she was alive!"

"As far as I know, she still is," he replied solemly. "But, she is not in the village. She's... imprisoned."

Tigress closed her eyes tightly and took a stabilizing breath. "Where?"

"In the Taiyangshan Prison. She was taken there three weeks ago by Tsou Wang's soldiers."

Tigress stared in wide-eyed shock. "Then why are you _here_ instead of _there_? You should be rescuing her!"

"You'd be surprised how powerless a king becomes without an army." Bao-Jia smiled ruefully. "A life of pampered luxury does not prepare one in the ways of covert operations and espionage. Even if by dumb luck I were to try and succeed, it is most likely that Tsou Wang will attack the fisherman's village in retaliation. In the end, I've decided my only option is to turn myself in. At least then I can take comfort that my final days will be at my beloved's side."

"NO!" Tigress slammed down her fists, shattering the coffee table to splinters. "That _can't _be the only option! There must be something else you can do... what about the armies of neighboring kingdoms? Can't you petition them to come to your aid?"

Bao-Jia swallowed thickly, turning his head to avoid her eyes. "Most tiger kingdoms are peaceful, as I've said before. They are not willing to declare war and jeopardize the lives of their soldiers for a dethroned monarch. What could I offer them in return?"

"I... I don't know," Tigress admitted, her anger tensing her muscles as the futility of the situation began to sink in. "There's really no other way to see my mother?"

His daughter's frustrated face transported Bao-Jia back in time, to a memory he'd forgotten.

_Lijuan, still sick in bed, had wanted her husband to make her a rice ball tiger. After several failed attempts he cursed loudly, shoved the ingredients into Joo Jin's paws, and ordered him to make it instead. "Everything I create looks like hideously misshapen chimeras," Bao-Jia grumbled. "There's no way I can serve such atrocities to my wife."_

_Joo Jin laughed, meanwhile his paws busily formed another rice ball. "You're not giving her much credit, you know." He set the new one it in front of his sovereign. "It's unfair to rob her of the chance to make a decision when you withhold all the options. Allow your _real_ wife to accept or reject what you have to offer, not the _fake_ wife you imagine in your head. My mother always said that you can't give up until you've hit rock bottom."_

_Bao-Jia glared at him in frustration. "And what, pray tell, is _rock bottom _in this case?"_

_Joo grinned and tapped a finger to the side of his nose knowingly. "Until there's no more rice in China!"_

Bao-Jia licked his lips and swallowed the knot in his throat, finally turning to face his daughter. "The Jiudu kingdom... is the only one that has offered their support," he grudgingly admitted. "But not without certain... conditions. Conditions I could not agree to."

Tigress's eyes gleamed with renewed determination. She leaned forward, commanding Bao-Jia's attention with her resolute stare. "What were those conditions?"

* * *

*Zan: The gosling being chased by Fung and his gang in Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness episode - Kung Fu Day Care

A/N: Thanks to YouAreBeforeEverything for your help keeping Po IC, Megan Shehan for your help with Bao-Jia's dialogue, Percabeth17 for your help with the stronger word choice and adding to the scene with Tigress, and to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! ^_^


	6. Chapter 6

Po was waiting by the foot of the stairs to the Jade Palace when Tigress returned from her talk with her father. He smiled and waved her down as she came up the road.

"So." He grinned confidently. "How'd it go? You have a nice chat with your dad?"

Tigress blinked in surprise. "You've been waiting for me all this time?"

"Well, not ALL this time." Po looked down and tapped his index fingers together shyly. "I did take a bathroom break about an hour ago."

"Po, you..." Tigress considered her word choice. "You really _treasure_ me, don't you?"

The panda responded by choking on his own tongue. His eyes bugged out and his face turned so red it seemed his head might explode. He sputtered and started coughing, using a fist to hit his chest as he tried to catch his breath.

Tigress jumped to help. Her arms weren't long enough to do a proper Heimlich maneuver, so she did the next best thing: a well-placed thrust punch to the gut.

Po doubled over and took a knee, wheezing, but not choking anymore. Tigress knelt next to him. "Are you okay?"

Po nodded rapidly, eager to avoid anymore of his friend's violent assistance. "I'm fine," he squeaked out, and did his best to prove it by smiling bravely at her through the tears of pain.

Tigress tried to smile back, but it came out as an awkward smirk. Po's self-consciousness was affecting her. He didn't know that during the chat with her father, she had made a decision that likely meant she would never see him, or anyone else from the Valley of Peace, again. She had wanted to leave immediately, before she lost her nerve, but her father had convinced her it was important to tie up loose ends and leave on good terms with her friends. So far she had punched and made cry the one person she most wanted to make peace with. Not a great start.

Despite his tear-blurred vision, Po was still able to see Tigress's distress. "Are _you_ okay?" he queried.

Tigress stood abruptly, turning her face away from him and looking back towards the village. "I'm... feeling a bit hungry," she explained.

"Oh." Po mumbled. He knew she was lying but tried to hide his disappointment. _You'd think after all this time she'd trust me enough to confide in me, _he mused. Then he remembered she had just asked him a very personal question and he had completely overreacted. Who knew what irreparable damage he'd just done to their relationship? Po felt a large boulder teetering on a ledge somewhere tied to his heart, and at any moment it would drop into the pit of his stomach. He made a slower effort to stand, his mind frantically racing to figure out a way to salvage the situation.

Technically, he still hadn't answered her question. Should he do that now? Or had the moment passed? If he _did_ answer, what should he say?

The silence had already gone on too long. He had to say something. Anything! Whether she laughed and teased him, became angry and attacked him, or was overjoyed and smothered him with kisses (though that last possibility was somewhat of a stretch), at least she'd know he cared.

"Tigress, I-"

"I'm going to get something to eat," Tigress declared, talking over Po's confession, and began walking briskly back down the valley.

The boulder fell. Po's heart sank. He was too late...

Tigress stopped suddenly. Without fully turning her head around, she called back, "Coming?"

Po's ears pricked up in surprise. "Really? You wanna eat-" He pointed a finger at himself "-with _me_?"

Tigress frowned, misunderstanding Po's hesitance. "If you've already eaten, I can go by my-"

"NO-NO-NO!" Adrenaline shot through Po's legs and he practically flew down the path. "I haven't eaten! Well, I mean, there was that bowl of spicy sesame peanut noodles at breakfast, the sweet and sour tofu I snacked on, and then the bok choy lo mein at lunch... But, I'll still go!"

Tigress studied his face, looking for signs of insincerity. It was impossible to find any. The happy smile on even reached his eyes, and left no room for doubt. She turned back towards the village and started walking again.

"Always genuine," she whispered under her breath.

"Huh?" Po asked while matching her stride. "Did you say something?"

"Just thinking out loud," Tigress answered. "Where should we go?"

That was a trick question, of course. The problem with small villages is that options are limited. In the Valley of Peace, Mr. Ping's noodle shop was really the only place to eat. He used to have a competitor, until it was discovered that the shop was just a front for the criminals who wanted to use the old service tunnel beneath the kitchen to infiltrate the Jade Palace. Quite a shame, since they'd had such delicious rice vinegar and honey bean buns.

"Po!" The old goose came running when he saw him, soup ladle in hand. "Welcome back, son! Did you bring the spices and soy sauce I asked for?"

Po grimaced. "Shoot... I knew I forgot something. Sorry, dad."

"Oh, now that you're the Dragon Warrior you think you're too important to help out your poor old father who raised you from a baby?" The goose raised a wing about a foot off the floor to indicate the height of said baby. "Sure, I'm still in good shape for someone my age-" he thumped his chest with the ladle- "but that doesn't mean running a business all by myself isn't _hard!_"

Mr. Ping looked like he was about to cry. Po rolled his eyes at his father's dramatics. "Okay, okay! I'll go get them right now, just hold tight a second!" He looked apologetically at Tigress before running out the door. "Don't go anywhere, I'll be right back!"

A second later he popped his head back in, "Seriously, please don't leave!" then popped back out.

With his son gone, Mr. Ping came back from his guilt trip and grinned pleasantly at the remaining kung fu master. "Are you here on a mission today, Master Tigress? I hope my thoughtless son isn't giving you much trouble."

"We're actually here as customers today, Mr. Ping," she replied. "A table for two, please."

Mr. Ping blinked in surprise. "A table... for two? Who are you eating with?"

Tigress felt a little confused at having to explain herself. "With Po, of course."

It took a few seconds for the response to register in his little goose brain. When it did, a slow smile spread across Mr. Ping's beak. "Oh... I see. So you two are-" he leaned in and waggled his eyebrows at her "-getting along now?"

Tigress leaned away, raising her own eyebrow warily. "...Yes?"

"Oh, happy day!" Mr. Ping twirled on one foot. "Come, come!"

He took Tigress by the hand and led her to an empty table, pulling out a chair for her and seating her in it.

"This calls for celebration!" He hurried back to his stove. "I'll make some red bean rice right away!"

The happy fuss Mr. Ping was making was having the opposite effect on Tigress. Was it really that big of a deal that she was being nice to Po? Had she been so cold before that this bit of kindness merited such overreaction from his father? And if so... would one day really make up for it?

"I'm back!" Po entered the dining area with a case of soy sauce bottles balanced atop an armload of spice bags. He hurried to dump them off at the kitchen counter, panting heavily from his efforts. "Anything else?" he asked his father.

"What are you doing?!" Mr. Ping chided. "You can't leave your girlfriend all alone while you go gallivanting around town. Leave that here and go sit with her!"

Po nearly choked on his own tongue for the second time that day. "Dad, I don't-"

Mr. Ping smacked the panda on the head with his soup ladle. "Don't argue with your father!"

"Ow!" Po rubbed the sore spot on his head. "Okay, I'm going..."

When he reached Tigress's table, he saw she was deep in thought. Po quietly sat down across from her, tapping his fingers lightly on the table as he pondered what to say. "So... the weather's nice today, isn't it?"

Tigress jerked her head up, startled out of her thoughts. "Huh? Oh... y-yeah."

Awkward silence. Before Po could come up with something non-weather related to say, twin bowls of food appeared between them. He turned to see his father smiling hugely at him.

"Red bean rice?" the panda asked him. "What's the special occasion?"

Mr. Ping playfully slapped his son's arm with the back of his wing. "As if you didn't know!" He then proceeded to set up a tall crystal vase with fresh flowers and a pair of low-burning candles in the center of their table. He winked at Po as he turned to waddle back to the kitchen.

Tigress passed her gaze questioningly over the odd decor before looking up at Po, obviously expecting an explanation. He smiled and laughed nervously. "Uh... this is... " he grimaced and brought his clenched hands up to protect his face, then suddenly spread his arms and fingers wide as an idea hit him. "Your BIRTHDAY surprise! Happy birthday, Tigress!"

"My birthday was three months ago." Tigress crossed her arms, unamused. "You gave me a gnarled stick you thought looked like a spoon."

"Right!" Po immediately switched tactics. "What I meant was, it's MY birth-"

"Yours was _five_ months ago. You tried to stuff your age in bean buns in your mouth."

"My dad's birthday?" he offered hopefully.

Tigress rolled her eyes. "How do you not know who's birthday you're celebrating?"

"It's the thought that counts!" he countered. "Hey, maybe we could wish Master Shifu a happy birthday after this, just to make everything even?"

Tigress blinked incredulously. Po grabbed a menu and decided to distract her with dining suggestions.

"Have you tried the tofu stir-fry?" He turned the menu around so it faced her and pointed at the picture listed for it. "It's pretty good with snow peas and shiitake mushrooms."

Tigress seemed about to say something, but thought better of it. She reminded herself of why she'd come to eat with him, and it wasn't to argue. She shook her head and let the issue drop. "I do like tofu... I guess I'll try it."

Emboldened by her approval, Po thought he'd show off a bit. "Of course, that's what we serve to _normal_ customers." He pushed both the menu and rice bowls to the side. "If you want the _really_ good stuff, you have to know somebody from the kitchen."

"Like you?" Tigress queried.

"You bet!" Po brought his elbow onto the table and leaned forward into it. "I can get you access to all the _secret_ dishes here at Mr. Ping's Noodle Shop. The kind you'll never see on _any_ menu _ever_." He smirked mischievously. "Because they're too _dangerous_ for casual diners."

Tigress knew she was being baited, but couldn't help feeling a little thrill at the tease of a challenge. She steepled her fingers and tapped them against her mouth to hide her amusement. "Such as?"

"Oh, you're interested in our secret menu?" Po propped his chin in the palm of his hand as he continued grinning at her. "I don't know..." He twirled the index finger of his free hand playfully around one of the candle flames. "It might be too _hot_ for you to handle."

The smell of burning fur alerted Po that his finger had caught fire. He yelped and grabbed his hand at the wrist, looking around frantically for something to drown it in before simply sticking his finger into his mouth. Smoke from the doused flames exited comically through his ears.

Tigress lowered her thumb and forefinger until they hovered just above the base of the flame, extinguished it in a single pinch, and let the smoke curl around her fingers before it dissipated in the air.

"_Bring it_, panda," she leered.

Po popped his finger out of his mouth and returned the gesture, "Oh, believe me, it is about to be _brought!_"

Po jumped out of his seat and ran into the kitchen, leapt over his surprised father, and yanked an apron down from its hanger on the wall, tying it around his waist.

"Po?" asked Mr. Ping.

"Head's up, Dad!" the panda exclaimed, grabbing a cutting knife off the counter, "I'm gonna need some pepper corn, ginger, garlic, and Sichuan bean sauce."

Mr. Ping's eyes enlarged as he recognized the combination of ingredients, "Are you crazy?! It's too dangerous! You haven't eaten anything even half as spicy in over ten years!"

"I can't stop now," Po replied while chopping some celery stalks into 2-inch lengths, "I've already got the vegetable oil cooking on the frying pan. You can either cut up the tofu or stay outta my way."

Mr. Ping saw the stubborn look in his eyes. He sighed and took out the tofu, "If you're going to go ahead with this foolishness, the least I can do is make sure you do it right."

Tigress watched the pair hard at work from her vantage point. Though she'd never admit it, she liked watching Po cook. Since the first night he made noodles for everyone at the Jade Palace, she'd known he was a skilled chef. There was no clumsiness or hesitation, the kitchen was his natural element. Po and his father worked in sync, their technique with all manner of cutlery was fast, accurate, and efficient. Nothing that came under their blades stood a chance.

The strong aroma of fried chili peppers made her eyes water a little, though Po and his dad seemed unaffected. It occurred to Tigress then that she might've made a mistake and her competitive nature had put her in a bad situation...

Finally, Po plucked a handful of sauteed bean sprouts out of a steaming pot and used them to lace the bottoms of two ceramic bowls. Mr. Ping poured the rest of whatever it was that he and his son had created over the sprouts. Just as Po was about to carry the bowls- "Po, the barrels!" "Oh, Right!"- he took them from his son and brought them over to Tigress's table himself, while the panda ran around the back of the shop.

Mr. Ping noticed her discomfort and offered her a reassuring smile. "My son hasn't made gan guo for anyone in over ten years, Master Tigress." He pulled two pairs of chopsticks out of his apron and set them neatly on the table. "He must have a lot of faith in you. It would be a shame if you didn't have any faith in yourself."

Po returned from behind the shop, carrying two large barrels over his shoulders. "Okay, I got 'em!" He set them down beside the table and pried off the lids, revealing they were filled to the brim with water.

Tigress peered into the barrels. "What are these for?"

Po shrugged, "Just a precaution, don't worry about it." He sat down and took up his chopsticks, twirling them expertly in his fingers while giving her a self-satisfied look. "You ready to do this, Tigress?"

It was too late to back down now. His infuriating smugness and her pride wouldn't allow it. She grabbed her own chopsticks. "Shut up and eat, panda!"

Just as she was about to dig in, Po held up his paws- "Wait!"- and produced a bottle of something out of his pocket. "Almost forgot the final touch..." he poured a little of the bottle's contents over the tofu on each dish. "Sichuan pepper corn oil!"

Tigress refused to let her mounting fear show. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves, and repositioned her chopsticks.

Po grinned and brought his hands together, bowing to her the way one shows respect to an opponent before a sparring match. "Let's eat!"

(End of chapter 6)

*bok choy: a type of leafy veggy, kinda like lettuce but with long white stems

*lo mein: wheat flour noodles, similar to chow mein. Mein is simply the Chinese word for noodles. Lo Mein means "tossed noodles," while chow mein means "fried noodles."

*red bean rice: rice boiled together with red beans, usually consumed during celebratory occasions (birthdays and weddings)

*Sichuan: a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the southwest of the country

*gan guo: a spicy stir fry dish. The bean sprouts in the bottom absorb all the juice and flavor. Arguably the spiciest cuisine in China.

A/N: Thanks to Megan Shehan for her idea with Mr. Ping playing cupid and for fixing the awkward ending.


	7. Chapter 7

In the end, both kung fu masters had to be carted out of the noodle shop to the village hospital, where they were treated for massive heartburn from the spicy food and bloating from drinking the entire contents of their water barrels. At first they had been placed in a large open room with other sick people, but when Po farted and sent the occupants into cardiac arrest it was unanimously agreed that they should be moved to smaller, more isolated quarters.

The new room was cheerily decorated with portraits of brightly colored wild flowers, white lacy curtains, soft yellow polka dot blankets... and cramped into the space the size of a hallway. The beds were practically touching, so close together that the person lying on one could literally reach over and smack the other person upside the head.

Tigress did so.

"Panda, I blame you," she grumbled. They were seated upright to let gravity help keep their food down.

"Hey!" Po countered, "You could've stopped eating at any time." He smirked. "I wouldn't have thought any less of you."

"HA!" she rolled her eyes. "Big talk from a guy that choked on his first bite. You're lucky your father was there to pound your back and help you swallow."

"That's because I ate it too fast, not because I couldn't handle the heat!" he protested.

"You were sweating like a pig."

"At least I wasn't _crying _like a baby!"

"I wasn't crying!" Tigress replied adamantly. "The smell of the chili was making my eyes water! I swear, the sauce alone could peel dried paint off a wall..."

"My gan guo _does_ have a nice kick to it." Po nodded thoughtfully. "I guess I could've added more celery."

"If you wanted a kick, you could've just asked nicely and saved us all this trouble!"

"That wouldn't have been half as much fun, though."

"Fun? This is _fun_ for you? You could pour lava on my tongue right now and I wouldn't feel a thing. I don't even want to _think_ about when I'll have to go to the bathroom later... I'll need to wipe myself with a snow cone."

Po grinned. "You're not even a _little_ proud of yourself? You hung in there with **me**, The Panda with the Iron Stomach! Those are some serious bragging rights, you know."

"Ugh," Tigress rolled her eyes. "I'd trade bragging rights for a time machine at this point, so I can go back 30 minutes and tell myself: DON'T!"

"That'd be so cool!" Po's face lit up. "Imagine if you really had one? I'd want to go back in time to when all my favorite heroes were in their prime, and watch them fight their legendary battles in person!"

He punched the air in front of him until the sudden movement gave him a stomach cramp and he howled in pain.

Tigress started to laugh at him until the action gave her a cramp of her own. She groaned and leaned back against her fluffy pillows.

They both sat quiet for a while, nursing their poor swollen bellies. As she shifted to a better position, Tigress felt something fall out of her pocket and towards the gap between the beds. Before she could react, Po's hand flashed out and caught it. He brought it up to see Bao-Jia's locket.

"You still have your mom's picture?" he asked as he returned it to Tigress. "I thought you gave it back when you went to talk to your dad?"

"He let me keep it," was all Tigress said on the matter, putting it away again.

"You know... I've never seen your baby pictures," Po said thoughtfully. "You should ask your dad for them."

Tigress shook her head. "I don't think they had time to make any. It was a very hectic day when I was born."

"Every parent has pictures of their kids," Po insisted. "It's like, almost a law or something... Ooo!" He clasped his hands eagerly. "We could use the time machine! I bet you were really cute as a baby. Especially wearing those tiny pink booties!"

"I don't think so."

"Aweh, come on! Why not?"

"Because we don't _have_ a time machine."

"...Oh yeah, huh?" His enthusiasm deflated. "Guess I got carried away."

Tigress turned her head away, mumbling under her breath. "I wouldn't look good in pink anyway."

Po heard her. "That's not true! I bet you'd look great in it. I mean, I know you like being tough, but you can still kick butt while being girly."

"Would you... like me better if I was?" she asked, still not looking at him. "Girly, I mean?"

Po realized his mistake and immediately backpedaled. "What?! No, I didn't- I didn't mean it like that..." His face fell as he looked down at his belly and started twiddling his thumbs. "I already think you're totally amazing! Even before I met you and the Furious Five in person, you were always my favorite kung fu master..."

Tigress felt her face grow hot, as if she'd just taken another bite of Po's gan guo. She peeked sideways at him. There it was again. That sad look she sometimes saw on Po's face after she'd gotten mad at him over something silly. This wasn't how she wanted her last day with him to end. Swallowing her pride and mustering up her courage, Tigress reached over and touched Po's shoulder.

"Thanks for spending the day with me, Po." He turned and looked surprised at her. "You're right. Today was... fun."

"To be honest, I hadn't expected you to invite me." He grinned sheepishly. "But, I'm really happy you did. I should've said this earlier but," he reached a shaky hand up to place it atop the one on his shoulder, "I _do_ treasure you." He dared to give it a little squeeze. "A lot."

Tigress wasn't sure what happened next. At first, she thought her heartburn was acting up again. She started feeling tingly all over. Then it was as if time had slowed down to a crawl and she was floating inside her own mind, no longer in control of her body. Her face started gravitating towards Po's, her heart was hammering, and there was a rushing sound in her ears, like beating wings.

Po didn't move. He didn't dare. He half expected this to be another of his daydreams, though he wasn't being suave, confident, or taking the initiative like he normally did in these situations. The real thing was much more nerve-racking

When Tigress's lips finally found his, her touch was a light as a butterfly, yet somehow managed to burn so hot Po feared his lips might melt right off. It wasn't as if he'd never kissed or been kissed before. There was Superintendent's Woo's daughter (though that had been a misunderstanding), the thief from the dancing troupe (that one had been on the cheek), and even the apple-cart duck's wife (he'd been under the influence of Taotie's evil Sphere of Unerringly Accurate Acupressure Machine at the time), but this was the first kiss that mattered. The first kiss with _someone_ who mattered.

When the kiss ended and Tigress finally came back into her own body, she found herself gazing into Po's big green eyes. She wanted to look away, but couldn't. Instantly her brain switched on and began badgering her with admonishments. What was wrong with her? Why had she done that? Where had her senses flown? How could she have let herself get carried away by a few words? She braced herself for the emotional onslaught she knew should follow: the embarrassment, awkwardness, and self-deprecation.

Instead, she was surprised that the only feeling to come over her was... the desire to kiss him again.

Po must have felt it, too. He was smiling hugely and clutching her hand on his shoulder tightly. Without a word exchanged between them, Tigress and Po began to lean into each other once more.

Then the door to their room burst open.

"Are you guys okay?" Viper asked worriedly as she slithered in. "We came as soon as we heard you two had been hospitalized. What happened?"

"I bet they had another fight." Crane ducked into the room after her. He stopped and noticed something was different about them. The two patients were sitting on opposite ends of their beds, as far apart from each other as possible. He looked Po over first, and then switched to Tigress, tilting his head to observe her at different angles. "Did you gain weight?"

Viper smacked him atop his head with her tail. "Crane!" she hissed. "That was rude. You should never comment about a woman's weight."

Monkey and Mantis entered behind them, crowding their tiny space even further. The smaller kung fu master leaped up onto Po's bed and eyed them both suspiciously. "Hey... how come your faces are so red?"

Tigress's only response was to glare at him. Luckily, they were saved from having to answer when Master Shifu entered the room, using his staff to part his gaggle of inquisitive students. "I just heard everything from the nurses. Apparently these two hot heads decided to have a chili eating contest. I expect this kind of nonsensical behavior from Po, but... what were you _thinking_, Tigress?"

"Yeah," Monkey chimed in, patting his belly. "Nobody can go up against the Panda with the Iron Stomach. Even just _watching_ him eat the way he does is enough to make people sick."

The others shivered in agreement.

Tigress crossed her arms. "Not only did I go against him, I _finished_ before he did."

"It's true," Po contended in her defense. "Even after all I could taste was pain, she kept right on going!"

Crane and the others laughed. "Yeah, right. You don't actually expect any of us to believe that, do you?"

Po crossed his own arms now. "Pfft! We don't care if you believe us or not." He looked over at Tigress. "We had fun, right?"

She blinked at him in surprise. Then her features softened and a small smile spread across her face. "Yeah... we did."

The smile was so sincere it caught all the visitors off guard. Shifu cleared his throat. "Well, at any rate, I hope you both learned your lesson from this. Return to the palace when you've finished recovering."

Just as he turned to leave, Tigress remembered something important and stopped him. "Wait, Master! I have a request."

The bear cat's ear twitched. "Yes?"

"I, uh... I'll be bringing a guest to the Jade Palace tomorrow. So, I was hoping an extra place could be set at the table for him during breakfast?"

Shifu turned around fully. "A guest? Who is it?"

Monkey's eyes lit up and he palmed his fist. "Oh! I bet I know. You're bringing your father, right?"

Shifu and the others spun their heads to stare at him. "Who?!"

Tigress pinched the bridge of her nose. It was going to be a long story. This time it was Po's hand that touched her shoulder. He gave her an encouraging grin. "Don't worry, Master Shifu wouldn't say no. Everyone's gonna wanna want to meet him, too!"

He retracted his hand and Tigress nodded, "Yeah, you're right. Thank you, Po"

"You're welcome."

And so the two turned to face their friends, who barraged them with a million questions, tucking away the day's events to replay later in private. Tigress was glad she had managed to make one last happy memory, while Po thought it was only the first of many more.

Tragically, only one of them would be right.

(End Chapter 7)

A/N: Thanks to YouAreBeforeEverything for the idea on how to end the chili contest, Po's confession, and letting me use the line for Tigress xD Thanks to Percabeth17 for her help with Po and Tigress's dialogue. Thanks to everyone who reviewed! ^w^


	8. Chapter 8

"I thank you, Master Shifu, for all you have done for my daughter. The rest of you as well," Bao-Jia's eyes swept across the table, making contact with each of the Furious Five and Po. He put his paws together and made a small bow towards the center of the table. "I thank you for being her friends and giving her your support."

Everyone bowed in return, Shifu being the first to speak up, "How long will you be in town, Bao-Jia? If you like we can offer you a room in-"

"Again, I thank you for your generous hospitality," the south China tiger interrupted. "But we must leave at once. I only came because I wanted to talk to the man who raised my daughter and the people who were her family during her time growing up. I am very pleased to have met you all and hope we have the chance to do so again, once the turmoil in my kingdom has died down."

"Turmoil?" asked Viper, setting down her teacup. "If you need help, sir, we'd be more than happy to provide whatever assistance we can!"

"Yeah!" Monkey jumped in. "You can count on me!"

"If there's a fight, I wanna be there!" Po added.

The entire table exploded in raucous agreement, until Bao-Jia put up his paws for silence and shook his head. "Your offer is much appreciated, but this is strictly a family matter. There is no reason for you all to be involved."

"But we ARE family," Shifu rose from his seat. "Please Mr. Bao-Jia, we insist. Tigress is important to all of us. It would be our pleasure."

"I..." Bao-Jia looked around the table uncomfortably, "I understand your reasons for wanting to help, but I must insist that my daughter and I return alone. My kindred... are not very receptive to non-felines. We don't often mingle with others outside our species. My wife and I only came to the Valley of Peace all those years ago because we were exiles in our own land, and couldn't risk being recognized in cat country."

Shifu stroked his beard pensively. "There's more to the situation that you're not telling us, isn't there?"

Bao-Jia looked helplessly at Tigress. She took a moment from dipping her yu za kuei in her soy milk and nodded, giving him permission to speak. He paused to compose his thoughts. "Have you ever wondered why tigers go to such lengths to isolate themselves? Why you don't see many traveling or living in the villages you're all familiar with?"

The table occupants all looked at each other. It was obvious the question had never occurred to them. Bao-Jia continued, "The reason goes back a few centuries..."

"Ooo, story time!" Po grinned and served himself an extra helping of bean buns.

"As you all know, everything in our world is made up of yin and yang: darkness and light, evil and goodness. Long ago tigers were thought to be very yin creatures. People feared our kind and few were willing to do business with us. Also at that time, the lower valleys were being plagued by a sickness called _yin blood disease. _Nobody knew when or where it came from, but curiously felines were all immune to it. As you can expect, that only made the people distrust and hate us even more. Soon, a popular theory began to spread, almost as fast as the disease itself. The rumor was that the disease could be cured by ingesting..." He took a shaky breath. "...powdered tiger bones."

Po sprayed chewed pieces of bean buns from his mouth.

Monkey scratched his head. "What's _yin blood disease_?"

"Something that doesn't exist anymore, " Bao-Jia replied. "And so, like the yin, we tigers have since sought out 'dark' and hidden areas occluded by the mountain's bulk. Meanwhile, creatures such as yourselves live in the yang, or 'light' places, out in the open."

The Five looked shamefully down at their plates.

"That's horrible," Viper whispered. "I can't believe our ancestors could be so cruel."

Bao-Jia looked down and pressed sad paws together. "Also, I'm afraid you won't be seeing much of Tigress from now on. Special **arrangements** have been made for her upon our arrival. She'll be very busy and working closely with our allies on our joint venture to seize the Topaz Palace."

Po didn't like the sound of this. What was so important that would keep Tigress from seeing her friends? And for how long? "What sort of _arrangements_ are we talking about here?"

Bao-Jia gave Po an apologetic look. "In order to secure peace between our kingdoms and ensure their support in the coming war," he said, "she has agreed to be wed... to the son of the Snow Leopard kingdom, Ch'eng Huang, "

Crane's beak accidentally stabbed through his bun and Viper's grip shattered her tea cup. Monkey hardly noticed that he'd dropped his soup bowl or that its spilled contents were soaking into this pants. The entire room became quiet. They turned to Tigress, who was deliberately avoiding making eye-contact with anyone.

Crane broke the silence. "Is that true, Tigress? _Marriage_? **You**?"

"Yes," she replied, still looking away. "If that is what it takes, it doesn't matter what happens to me. I will do what must be done."

"Tigress..." Po was at a loss. Just when things were _finally_ starting to go well between them... he had to give her up?

"Well... that's great!" Viper piped up. Ever the optimist, the sweet-natured snake tried to put a positive spin on the situation. "Once the fighting is over, you'll have lots of time to spend getting reacquainted with your birth parents! And we can come and visit you, right? It won't be so bad. Maybe we could even baby-sit for you after you and your husband have cubs! I'll bet they'll be the cutest babies in all of China!"

Po grimaced as Viper's words cut straight through his heart. The thought of Tigress having cubs with someone else... was unbearable. It couldn't be true, could it? Tigress wouldn't really... would she?

Bao-Jia shook his head, "That's impossible."

All eyes were on him now, even Tigress, who looked genuinely surprised at this bit of news. "I keep forgetting that you were not raised in feline society, Tigress. Among our kind, once a woman is married, she goes to live with her husband. She must give up the family of her birth to become part of her husband's family. If the husband does not approve of the wife's choice of non-feline friends..."

"You never told me that!" Tigress raged, the legs of her chair screeching across the floor in her haste to stand. "I... I knew there would be sacrifices, but this... this is asking too much!"

Her father nodded, "You're right. It IS too much." He also stood and turned to face her. "Which is why I had refused their offer in the first place. But, I wanted to let you be the one to make the final decision. It's not too late to change your mind, and I would not blame you if you did. I will simply tell everyone that I could not find you."

Bao-Jia took her paw in his and patted it affectionately. "I will always do all I can to protect your happiness, my child. When you wake up tomorrow morning, you can pretend this was all just a bad dream."

Tigress unconsciously gripped her father's wrists. He was saying he was about to abandon her... again. "What will happen to you-" she swallowed thickly "-if you return without me?"

Her father did not reply immediately, but the look in his eyes confirmed her fears. He would be with his wife in the end, one way or another. He tried to smile. "I'll be fine. Don't worry about me."

Tigress thought again of the short time she had spent with her birth father. His pride and affection towards her, all the sacrifices he had made, and would continue making, for her sake. Even at the cost of his own life and the cost of his kingdom. He was willing to forsake it all for the daughter he had never known... yet so obviously loved with all his heart.

She turned to Shifu with a determined expression. "I'm going."

"NO!" Po pushed himself up to stand. "Tigress, you can't!"

Shifu also wanted to protest, but held his tongue. She was no longer the small, impulsive cub she had been when he'd first met her. She had grown, both in body and spirit. If this was what she wanted to do, he had to let her follow her own path.

But...

"I'm going," she repeated firmly. "This is not open to discussion."

"Tigress... you're sure?" Shifu asked tentatively.

"You're not throwing your life away!" Po shouted. He wasn't going to let the girl he liked slip through his fingers again. Not this time. "I won't allow it!"

"Won't allow...?" Tigress's features became livid. "How DARE you?! You have no say in how I live my life. This is none of your concern!"

"See, that's where you're wrong." Po crossed his arms and gave her a cocky grin, a desperate idea forming in his brain. "I think my _fiancée_ trying to go off and marry someone else is **very** much my concern."

The sound of jaws hitting the floor was almost physically audible around the room.

Then they all began chattering at once.

"Your WHAT!?"

"When did _that_ happen?"

"Are you **serious**?!"

"I don't believe it!"

"Are you stupid?!"

"Tigress..." Her father's eyes narrowed crossly. "What is he talking about? Is this true?"

"Uh..." Tigress blinked dumbly at Po, who smiled and winked at her in return. She didn't know what was going on, but she did feel strangely... relieved. Maybe Po had a plan. Maybe there was a way to save her parents without losing her home or her friends. It was a long shot, but... she decided to trust him.

She offered her father an awkward smile. "Surprise?"

(End chapter 8)

Yu za kuei: a Chinese breakfast bread about a foot long and deep-fried in oil, often dipped into a thin soymilk, which can be either sweet or salty.

A/N: Thanks to Fox Mcloud SNR for his help with the character reactions, and to Percabeth17 for the spelling corrections and help with Shifu's dialogue.


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